


Hale's Home for Strays

by Sourwolf and Stilinski (Kitsune_Moonstar)



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Laura Hale, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Librarian Stiles, M/M, Park Ranger Derek, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-09
Updated: 2015-10-09
Packaged: 2018-04-25 15:04:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4965475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kitsune_Moonstar/pseuds/Sourwolf%20and%20Stilinski
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which adopting a puppy sets off a chain of events in Derek Hale's life that he's not going to complain about.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hale's Home for Strays

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Teen Wolf or its characters. This is set in an alternate universe where werewolves don't exist.

Derek knew his sisters would have latched onto the idea if they had thought of it first. That doesn't stop him from adopting the puppy. Quite honestly, Derek isn't sure that anything could stop him from adopting the puppy at this point. He'd been the one to find both the little girl and the puppy. The search for the missing child had become a major event when the Sheriff's office had called in the local park rangers to help them search for the four year old. Derek had found the girl, the puppy, and her kidnapper.

Once the kidnapper had been hauled away and the little girl reunited with her parents, the mother had thrown a hissy fit about the puppy which was what had been used to entice the little girl to go with the kidnapper. And Derek couldn't let the little grey slip of a thing with oversized paws be shipped off to the pound. So he offered to take her. The pup was barely eight weeks old, but according to Scott, the local vet, she was healthy and had all of her shots. Scott also said she was an Irish Wolfhound and she'd grow into her paws.

He spends an afternoon at the pet store buying supplies before he brings Riona home to his loft. Riona took to her new environment rather well as far as Derek can tell. She was perfectly happy to follow him around the loft and curl up at his feet. Riona seemed pretty mellow for a puppy as long she gets her two walks a day and Derek pet her regularly. True to form, both Cora and Laura decided that she needed to be spoiled. So Derek wasn't surprised to come home from work to find one of his sisters in the loft and new dog toys scattered around.

"You know, Der," Laura said, idly tossing a ball for Riona, "you really should look into training for her. I mean, Ri's pretty well behaved right now, but she's not going to be this small and cute forever."

Derek just shrugged. Riona was already housebroken, and the obedience training he'd done at home so far seemed to have worked rather well.

"You might even be able to get her certified so you could take her to work with you. I'd bet she'd love spending her days tromping through the woods."

That actually sounded like something Derek would enjoy. And his station could definitely use a search and rescue dog. About half of the time they were called out it was for hikers lost in the woods. So, on his next day off, Derek wandered down to the library to see what he could find out. They didn't have much, but one of the librarians recommended he head over to the community college which had some sort of service dog program. Which was how he found himself walking into the community college library.

"Hey, how can I help you?"

A young man with amber eyes and a broad smile appeared at his elbow. Derek blinked.

"Dog training books," he managed to get out.

"Are you looking for the course readings or just general research?" The guy asked. "I haven't seen you hear before, but you could always be a new student. About half of the students here are older or returning students, and I know you're not Professor Buckle's new TA since I've already met her."

It was hard to get a word in edgewise.

"General research. I'm thinking about training my puppy for search and rescue if possible," Derek offered.

"What kind of dog is it? Have you done search and rescue before? It's not the easiest set of skills to teach for a beginner…"

The librarian continued to ramble on while he led Derek through the stacks. Every so often, he managed to get a word in edgewise, but for the most part, he just listened. It was definitely easier than making small talk, and it was kind of fascinating to watch the librarian jump from one topic to another with the most random seeming connections. By the time that he'd finished talking, Derek had a stack of books and had showed the librarian picture of Riona on his phone.

"She's adorable. If you need more material, just let me know. I'm Stiles, and I'm on the reference desk most afternoons."

"Derek."

"Good to meet you, Derek. Just let me get you all checked out, and you're good to go."

He headed home with the books ready to get a start on his research. A week later he was enrolling himself and Riona in one of the programs at the college. Thankfully, Derek already had most of the training the humans needed for wilderness rescue work thanks to the fact that he was a park ranger. Riona took to her training well, and even if it was going to be at least a year before he could really take her out in the field, Derek was pleased with the results.

Derek was also seeing more of Stiles than he had first expected. The librarian was now a fairly regular fixture in Derek's life. Derek was in and out of the college library far more often than he'd expected, and Stiles was always quick with a bright smile and a funny story. He'd started seeing the man around town more often. Or at least recognizing him. It seemed like they had a number of local hangouts in common, including the same coffee shop.

That Derek had discovered when he'd gone in one morning during his regular morning run. He'd left Riona outside to go in to grab his coffee and when he came out, he'd found Stiles crouching by Riona, chattering animatedly at the dog who was quite happily sniffing his hands. The young man had blinked when Derek had come out with a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hey Derek. Is this Riona then? She's adorable."

Derek smiled. "She is. Would you like to pet her?"

"Can I?"

"Absolutely. She's not working right now, so she can have all the attention she wants."

Stiles pet the puppy until she was butting her head against his hand. Stiles just smiled and scritched behind her ears and engaged Derek in a conversation about books. Like most of his interactions with Stiles it was light and fun and natural. Derek didn't feel quite as awkward with Stiles as he did when making small talk with most people.

"So, did you read that book I recommended? _The Furies of Calderon_?"

Derek smiled. "Yes. You were right. It was fantastic. I just started the second one in the series the other day."

"I know, right? And the series just gets better." Stiles let out a sigh as he gave Riona one last scratch. "I'd better get a move on. I'm picking up lunch for my dad. See you around, Derek."

Derek watched him head down the street before clicking his tongue at Riona. "Come on, girl. Time to head home."

Two days later, Derek found himself giving a group of sheriff's deputies a tour of the State Park's facilities. The two agencies worked together on a regular basis, especially during fire season or when hikers got lost. Their superiors on both sides tried to make sure the two groups got along and could work together well with events like barbeques and baseball games happening several times a year. Derek liked that. The previous park he had worked at had not had a good relationship with their local law enforcement, and they'd spent more time butting heads than actually getting work done.

"We're also just starting a search and rescue dog program. My dog, Riona, and I will be the first team once we finish our training, and we hope to add other teams in the future," Derek told the group. "Any questions?"

There weren't which meant they could all go to lunch.

"All right. You'll find lunch being served up by the admin building."

The group began the trip back to the main center of the park, and Derek found himself walking next to Sheriff Stilinski. The older man smiled at him.

"Good to see you again. How's that pup of yours?"

Derek smiled. "She's finally growing into her feet. The search and rescue training has been going well, and I'll be able to have her help out the next time we've got lost campers."

"Sounds good. My son keeps trying to convince me a need a dog that I'm living on my own." The sheriff smiled. "He hasn't convinced my yet, but I have to admit I rather like the idea of having another dog for the department."

"I can't complain. Having Riona around has been nice. My sisters keep trying to spoil her, but so far she hasn't been too much trouble. I'm hoping that she'll be successful when we get out in the field. It would definitely be a help when he have to track down lost hikers."

His pup was waiting for him the moment Derek got in the door. She didn't jump up on him, but she danced around his feet, barking happily. Derek reached down to pet her.

"Calm down, sweetheart. Just give me a minute and we can go for a walk," Derek told her.

It only took Derek a couple of minutes to change out of his uniform and into jogging clothes. Riona happily accepted the leash, and the two of them were quickly off. The two of them had long since settled into an easy pace when they went running together. So Derek steered them towards his favorite jogging route and let himself fall into the headspace where he wasn't really thinking about anything other than the ground beneath his feet. Running was one of Derek's favorite ways to decompress after work. It settled him in a way that even curling up with a good book and cup of tea couldn't.

He was so deeply in his own world that he didn't notice he had company until Riona took matters into her own paws, tangling her leash around the legs of the person running beside them, bring both of them to a halt. Stiles nearly toppled over before Derek steadied him.

"Sorry. Riona doesn't normally do this. Hold still a moment."

It takes some doing to get Stiles untangled from Riona's leash. Derek's not even sure how his dog managed this. Thankfully, Stiles seems perfectly willing to just stand there and pet Derek's dog while he did so.

"Well, that didn't exactly go as planned," he said with a rueful grin. "How are you Derek?"

"Good. Even if my dog is a hazard to other runners."

Stiles just grinned. "Oh, I don't know. She's too cute for anyone to stay mad at her."

Derek shook his head. "Don't tell me you're going to spoil her as well. It's bad enough that my sisters are always bringing her treats and new toys."

Stiles laughed and the conversation turned to other things, and Derek found himself agreeing to grab coffee with him. Coffee dates with Stiles quickly became a habit after that without Derek really realizing it. Coffee dates turned into movie nights, and by the time that summer rolled around, Stiles was a common fixture around the loft. Which meant that he was there the afternoon that Riona brought home a scraggly bundle of grey fur.

It had been pouring rain all week, and Derek and Stiles had the rare same weekday off. It had been spent curled up on the couch together having a Star Wars marathon. Between the films, Derek had nipped out to take Riona for a quick walk. His dog (he really couldn't call her a puppy any more) had taken off almost the moment they were outside. She'd come back before Derek could start to panic though, carrying with her what looked like a grey rag in her mouth.

Then the grey ball let out a piteous mew, and Derek realized it was a kitten. Riona released it into Derek's hands and he swiftly brought it inside. Riona followed looking quite proud of herself.

"Der?" Stiles called from the couch.

"Riona brought me a present. I'm going to be moment."

He headed for the bathroom to grab a towel. Once the kitten was dry, he'd have a better idea of what he was dealing with. Stiles wandered into the bathroom just as he was finishing up.

"So what did Riona bring you? Hopefully, not a dead bird, though that would be far more like a cat than like a dog." He peered at the towel Derek was holding. "Is that a kitten? She's adorable."

Derek nodded. The kitten mewed piteously. Stiles smiled.

"I'll grab some milk for you."

Between the two of them, they got the kitten happily situated in a shoe box with a towel and a little saucer of milk. Stiles had called Scott who had told them to feed her and keep her warm and to bring her in to the vet's office tomorrow. Once dry, the kitten was an even larger puffball than before. She also seemed perfectly happy to curl up and nap while Derek and Stiles watched their movie.

Scott gave the kitten a clean bill of health the next day as well as informing Derek that it was girl. She was a little undernourished, but other than that she was fine. And in need of a name. Derek spent the morning picking up the things that a kitten might need and trying to come up with something to call her. Dry and well fed, she might be tiny, but his new kitten was clearly a curious soul. Derek watched her explore the loft as he tried to come up with a suitable name. Nothing he had come up with so far really seemed to suit her.

Stiles popped in that evening with take out and to see how the kitten was doing. The kitten delicately sniffed at Stiles from her perch on the couch arm.

"I thought about Rhiannon," Derek told him, "but it's a little too similar to Riona, and I'm afraid they could get one another mixed up."

"What about Roisin?" offered Stiles. "Then you can have Ri and Ro. And it fits with your Irish name theme."

Derek shrugged.

"What do you think?" he asked the kitten. "Do you feel like a Roisin?"

The kitten batted at Stiles fingers.

"Let's take that as a yes." He grinned.

So, Roisin joined the Hale household. Ro was a quieter addition than Riona, but she got into her fair share of mischief. She seemed to especially like climbing on to bookshelves or other furniture and then jumping on you when you least expected it. All in all, Roisin was fairly friendly for a cat, but it was clear that she had her favorites. Derek was one of them, but the other was Stiles. Ro simply adored climbing all over the other man, and his lap was her favorite place to take a nap. Not that Derek minded that much.

It was an excuse to have Stiles over more often. Not that he really needed one. It seemed like Stiles was more than willing to spend most of his free time at Derek's. More often than not he swung by for dinner or to spend an afternoon lazing about discussing books or going to the farmer's market together. Both Laura and Cora teased them about how domestic they were already so early in their relationship, but Stiles just laughed at that.

And it wasn't like they didn't go out as well. Stiles liked to drag Derek out to little hole in the wall places to eat or to the movies or even just for a walk out to get ice cream. And to be completely honest, the whole relationship had sort of snuck up on Derek. It really hadn't been until he'd overheard Stiles tell one of his dad's deputies that he had plans with his boyfriend, that Derek had really realized what they were doing. To be honest, it had thrown him for a bit of a loop.

Not in a bad way. In fact, Derek would say that his relationship with Stiles was the best romance he'd had to date. Stiles made him happy and content with his life, which he couldn't say of either Kate or Jennifer, and there wasn't the bittersweet feeling that this had to end at some point like there always had been with Braeden. No, Stiles left a feeling of warmth and permanence.

It's another grey rainy day that see's the two of them cuddled together in Derek's bed, each with their own books and Ri and Ro curled up at their feet napping. Stiles was leaning against his shoulder, and the words just slipped out of his mouth.

"What do you think about moving in?"

Stiles blinked at him then a slow smile curved his lips. "We'll need to get more bookshelves."

It happens slowly over the next month. Stiles things begin to appear. His clothes in Derek's closet, his X-Box next to the TV. There was a memorable trip to the Bay Area to pick up bookshelves at IKEA. It takes a little more adjustments that Derek expected to have Stiles living with him. But learning to live with both a dog and a cat had taught him something about sharing space, and the two of managed to survive the transition with only a handful of screaming rows.

And it's more than worth it. Having Stiles around all of the time was wonderful. Oh, it wasn't all sunshine and roses, both Derek and Stiles were far too sarcastic than that, but it was still wonderful. Their housewarming party once Stiles has completely moved in had been fun, and it had meant meeting a number of Stiles' friends he hadn't had an occasion to before. Of course, introducing Laura and Lydia might have been a tactical mistake on Derek and Stiles' part.

The two of them spend the summer hiking in the preserve and lounging around Derek's loft. Stiles convinced him to lend a hand with the annual Sheriff's Department versus Fire Department ballgame which turned out to be a little more cutthroat than Derek had expected. It had been fun though, and Derek won't forget just how pleased the sheriff was to have him amongst the rest of the deputies on the team. More than anything else it felt like an approval of his relationship with Stiles, and Derek found it was something he'd craved without knowing it. His parents weren't around to approve of Stiles, but his sisters did, and that made Derek happy. Of all of his other romantic partners, they'd only ever like Braeden before, and even that was grudgingly. But Laura and Cora both seemed to love Stiles, and Derek was happy with his life. So he probably shouldn't have been surprised when everything was thrown into chaos.

It started with an all hands on deck call at work. Apparently, there was a family of tourist missing, two adults and their three year old daughter. Derek and Riona had been some of the first sent out into the field. After three days with no sign of them, things got kicked up into high gear. Derek and Riona had been assigned a far area of the park that had a few vacation cabins but not much else. Still, it was worth a try, and it wouldn't be the first time that someone got lost out here. There was a reason these cabins weren't that popular.

When Riona suddenly perked her ears up and headed for the farthest cabin in the area, Derek felt a prickle at the back of his neck. He had a bad feeling about this. Calling Riona to heel, Derek radioed for backup, just in case. Then he let Riona take the lead. The cabin itself still looked abandoned. There was no sign that anyone had been in or out recently. No lights on inside. No smoke from a wood fire. There weren't even any leftover pieces of trash. It would seem like no one was around, except that Riona was definitely scenting something.

Softly calling his dog to heel again, Derek slid his gun out of his holster and tried the cabin's front door. It was unlocked and opened easily. That was the good news what little there was. The bad news was very bad. There were dead bodies in the cabin at the very least. Derek knew that he should probably leave and call for backup, but he wanted to make sure that there was no one still alive in here first. If there was someone here and they needed medical attention, it would be best to know when he radioed for help.

The first thing he found were the bodies of two adults, which matched the descriptions they had of the Yukimuras. There was a whimper, and Derek scanned the area for any sign of life. A quivering shadow in the corner caught his eye, and he carefully made his way over to her. A pair of large dark eyes stared up at him for a long moment, and then Derek had a little girl latched on to his leg.

That was when everything went downhill. The cabin's front door slammed open, and Derek was confronted with an older man leveling a shot gun at his chest.

"You're one of them, aren't you? Another one of the monsters. I'll deal with you then I'll take care of the little one. I won't let you abominations…"

He kept ranting, but Derek was more focused on the man's gun. He couldn't radio for backup now without attracting attention which meant he was on his own. Or not exactly on his own as Derek could see Riona nosing the door open. That didn't exactly make Derek feel better. He'd much rather have his dog out of harm's way when dealing with a crazy person with a gun.

It was a stalemate. Derek didn't want to do anything that would provoke the man into firing, and at the moment he didn't seem all that inclined to shoot anyone, just threaten and rant at Derek. And that was fine with Derek as long as it kept him from shooting Derek, Rinoa, or the little girl. But that didn't solve the problem of the shotgun. That was still a threat. And one that he didn't have a good solution for.

Due to lack of a good solution, Derek went for a bad one that he hoped he could pull off. Thankfully, his dog appeared to be psychic because when Derek lunged forward and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun, Riona sank her teeth into the man's leg. Between the distract and the fact that Derek was younger and stronger than the older man, he managed to wrest the gun away and subdue the man.

By the time that his back up arrived, Derek had the man handcuffed and secured even if he didn't have a gag to shut him up. He also had acquired a limpet in the form of a three year old. The little girl had still yet to say anything but she clung to Derek with more force than he had expected. It did make things a little awkward once the rest of the rescue group arrived and she still refused to let go of Derek. So he and Riona made the trip back to Beacon Hills in the ambulance with her, and Derek found himself drafted by the ER nurses to help with her exam.

The good news was she was mostly physically unharmed, just dehydrated and hungry. But she had probably witnessed what had been done to her parents, and they had had to sedate her in order to get her to let go of Derek. And once he was free, his day wasn't over yet. He had given a preliminary report at the scene, but there was both follow up and paperwork to be done. And Riona to feed as well. Thankfully, dog food was one thing he did have on hand at the ranger station.

Derek was dead on his feet when all of his obligations were finally dealt with and he was free to head home. Of course, actually making it home without causing a traffic accident was another story. As much as he wanted to be back in his own space, Derek didn't think he was up to driving at this point, so it seemed like he was spending the night at the Ranger Station.

Or at least that's what he thought until his amazing wonderful boyfriend showed up to take him home.

"Scott's picking up take out for us as we speak," Stiles grinned at him. "You look beat."

It probably wasn't any surprise that Derek fell asleep in the car. Once they had made it back to the loft, Stiles gently nudged Derek towards the shower. Being clean definitely helped, and he found several bags of his favorite Chinese waiting when he rejoined Stiles. Not that he remembered eating or falling into bed afterwards.

The next morning Derek woke to purring in his ear and sun in his eyes. He was alone in bed except for the cat, but given that it had to be late afternoon, that wasn't too surprising. Derek groaned as he climbed out of bed. Wandering out of the bedroom, he found the loft abandoned and a note on the kitchen counter from Stiles letting Derek know that he'd taken Riona out with him running errands and there was food in the fridge if he was hungry. Derek smiled and helped himself to the food and headed for the couch.

Derek didn't turn on the TV. He had a feeling that his face was probably splashed all over the local news. The Yukimuras' disappearance had pretty much been the only story on TV lately, and this latest turn of events was probably being splashed everywhere. Derek had absolutely no desire to find out if anyone had leaked the information that Derek had been the one involved. The last thing he wanted to do right now was deal with the press. Hopefully, when Stiles got home he could tell his boyfriend just how bad the media coverage was. Derek had absolutely no intent of being caught on camera anytime soon.

He was making a new pot of coffee when the front door slammed open. Derek was almost immediately greeted by a very happy dog.

"Riona, down."

She sat but turned the puppy dog eyes on him. Stiles laughed.

"You're up. I've got groceries and took Riona for a run. The good news is that so far you're just a "State Park Ranger" in the media, but I doubt it will be long before they know your name."

Derek sighed. "I don't suppose there's anyway to give them a different name."

Stiles snorted. "You're just going to have to deal with being the local hero for a while. It will die down eventually. Dad says it typically takes about a month or so."

Sheriff Stilinski would know. He'd been in the same exact situation as Derek more than once in his career. Then again, that was always good when you were in an elected position. Derek, on the other hand, could see no benefit from all the publicity.

"I'd rather have someone else take all the credit."

The phone rang before Stiles could respond to that. Derek snagged it.

"Derek Hale speaking."

"Derek," Melissa McCall's worried tones came across the phone, "I hate to bother you when I know you're on downtime, but we've got a bit of a problem with Miss Yukimura."

He frowned. "What's wrong?"

Melissa sighed. "It's not all that surprising that she's developed a distrust of most adults, especially older ones, but she's pretty much refusing to give more than yes or no answers to anyone except for you. It either 'Yes', 'No', or 'Where's Derek?'. Neither social services or the child psychologist think we're going to get anywhere with her unless you're there. I was hoping you could come down this afternoon and give us a hand?"

"Of course. Just let me tell Stiles. I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

Stiles offered to tag along for the trip, and thankfully, they didn't have much trouble avoiding the press who were camped out in the hospital's lobby. Melissa was waiting for them. She offered the pair a small smile.

"Thanks for coming. Kira's doing quite well except for the fact that she won't let anyone near her. She should be able to leave in a couple of days."

The woman led the way to a room at the far end of the pediatric ward. It was on the corner of the building, so the window had a view, and it was clear that someone had taken the time to try and make the space as non-threatening as possible with several stuffed animals and a bouquet of daisies and sunflowers. Kira Yukimura still didn't look very happy to be there. She was huddled at the head of the bed with an IV in one arm and looking utterly lost.

That expression changed when she spotted Derek in the doorway though. She didn't smile, but her eyes lit up a little and her shoulders relaxed. Derek smiled at her.

"Hey Kira, I hear you wanted to see me."

She held her arms up, and he stepped forward to scoop her up and sit down the bed with her in his lap. Stiles hovered in the doorway, and Kira turned her wary eyes on him.

"Who's that?"

"That's Stiles."

Kira's face scrunched up before Derek had a chance to elaborate. "What's a Stiles?

"I'm a Stiles," his boyfriend told her. "That's my name."

"It's a silly name."

Stiles nodded gravely. "My real name is even sillier."

"Really?"

"It's so silly, most people can't even say it."

That seemed to settle Kira's mind about Stiles, and she relaxed a little more. The two of them spent the rest of the afternoon with the little girl, coaxing her into helping the nurses. Kira warmed up to Melissa a little which was good, but she was still extremely wary of most of the hospital staff. She was also letting little things slip about what had happened to her. Stiles had taken to jotting down notes whenever that happened. Derek knew that social services had found a therapist for the girl, but he didn't think they'd had a chance to meet yet.

Visiting Kira quickly became a common occurrence for the couple. While she was getting better at interacting with other people, it was clear that she liked Derek best, closely followed by Stiles. And it wasn't like Kira had many people to support her. Her only family left were distant relatives in Japan, and while a great aunt was making arrangements to come to the States, Kira had actually never met the woman before. There was also the fact that Kira wasn't settling in very well at the foster home she was placed. It was just a little too busy for a girl who still jumped at every shadow and had trouble accepting new people in her space.

So it wasn't any surprise when about three weeks in, Kira's social worker asked if he and Stiles would be willing to take the little girl in temporarily. What was surprising was how quickly both of them agreed. Derek knew that he and Stiles were serious, but kids had only been idle conversation once or twice and they were still rather new as a couple. But both of the men had wanted to take on the challenge, and Derek knew something of losing your family, and he didn't want to be alone while she dealt with that. So Kira had joined the menagerie in the loft.

And it was both easier and harder than Derek expected. Being a parent was hard, but it felt like Kira belonged there just as much as Riona, Roisin, and Stiles did. Derek found himself very quickly very attached to the little girl, even if it meant completely reorganizing both his loft and his work schedule. And he was pleased to say that Kira seemed to be settling in with them pretty well. She had even taken to Sheriff Stilinski and Laura, though that had taken a little time.

Of course, Kira's great-aunt showed up at the worst possible moment to arrive at their door when Derek was chasing Kira with Riona hot on their heels and Roisin provided a rather vocal commentary from one of the bookshelves. The impeccably coifed elderly woman in a kimono had taken in the scene, blink, and then threw her head back and laughed.

"Well, I don't have to worry about you not being able to keep up with the child."

Derek automatically caught Kira as she went flying by him, quickly hoisting her up onto his hip.

"Would you like to come in?" he asked. The loft was a mess, and Stiles wasn't due home from work for a couple more hours, but it wasn't like he could just ask her to leave.

The next twenty minutes were awkward for Derek as he tried to regain control over his life. His conversation with Kaoru Yukimura was rather stilted up until the moment Stiles came swanning in the door with a grin.

"How does Biwa's sound for dinner? Grant traded me shifts, and I bet we could convince Dad to join us. What do you say Kira?"

Kira let out a squeal and launched herself at Stiles who caught her and swung her around. Mrs. Yukimura nodded approvingly.

"That sounds lovely. I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of your family."

Stiles took in her presence, blinked once, and then grinned. "Well, to be fair, it would be more of the immediate family than anything else, and Derek's sisters wouldn't be there which is too bad because they both adore Kira. I think that Cora is currently somewhere in South America right now on a photography trip, but Laura's a local, so you could probably meet her sometime before you leave. I'm assuming you are Kira's aunt. I'm Stiles Stilinski, Derek's partner."

Mrs. Yukimura smiled. "Pleased to meet you. So, dinner?"

"Just let me chance out of my work clothes and call my dad."

Dinner proved to be a rather brilliant idea. Derek was much more relaxed with the group setting, and that definitely helped things along. Mrs. Yukimura wasn't quite so intimidating once they got to know her a little bit either. Derek was pretty sure that while Kaoru Yukimura was every inch the iron willed matriarch of her family, she also had a good sense of humor and knew a thing or two about raising kids. She also seemed to approve of Derek and Stiles which was a good thing.

Kira's aunt was in town for two weeks which she spent getting to know Derek and Stiles and their family as well as their town, co-workers, and just about every other detail of their lives. Derek was pretty sure that she was satisfied with them as guardians for Kira, but it wasn't until she sat the two of them down towards the end of her visit that they knew anything for sure.

"I am quite pleased to have you two act as Kira's guardians for the most part, though I do have a couple of stipulations. I would like you to bring Kira to Japan every few years. The family will pay for it, and I think you all will enjoy our family home. I want Kira to grow up connected to her heritage even if her mother decided to make her home here in America."

Derek nodded after trading a look with Stiles. That sounded reasonable to him.

"I also would like you to keep in touch with us. Facebook, email, maybe an occasional skype call, whatever. It doesn't have to be every week, but I would like to keep in touch and know how Kira is doing on a regular basis. I'll leave you with contact information for myself and some of our other relatives."

Stiles grinned. "Not a problem. Anything else?"

Kaoru shook her head. "No. I have to say, you two are not what I expected, but I am very pleased that Kira ended up with people who care for her so much."

Derek smiled. "It's our pleasure."

Nearly two weeks later, it was raining buckets and the five of them were curled up in Derek and Stiles' bed enjoying the lazy Saturday. Stiles was reading to Kira while the dog sprawled across his feet. The cat was curled up on Derek's shoulder while he typed up a report for work. Part of Derek was incredulous about how he ended up here. This wasn't at all what he had expected when he'd adopted a puppy, but it was more than he'd ever hoped for when he'd moved back to Beacon Hills. With Kira curled up between him and Stiles and the rain beating against the windows, he had the feeling that the warmth in his chest wasn't entirely due to the comforters. Even if his sisters now teased him about collecting strays, Derek couldn't say he regretted the decision in the slightest.


End file.
